[Heart Game - Ed, Maya, Roxy]

[carptricks]

[It's dark. You're trying to move forward, but it feels like your limbs are weighed down by chains and shackles. Still, you push. You push and you pull and those chains are pulled taut and strained until suddenly--]

[Something snaps]

[You tumble forward, wind blowing past your face, until you lose awareness of anything around you. . .]

((another run ran concurrent to this one here))

Comments

[soulping]

[You enter a pitch black room. Before you can register anything else, you hear the door slam shut and lock behind you. A voice from a PA system suddenly fills your ears. It's. . . Kaito?]

"Welcome to the Clover Casino Obstacle Course! Super extra mega revamped for maximum fun edition. ♥ Please listen to instructions carefully and-- aw, who the heck am I kidding! Rules are for losers; just let loose and have fun!"

[The lights turn on to reveal a LAVA PIT in front of you. GASP! There's a wooden balance beam stretched across the pit, narrow enough to give even the most poised of individuals difficulty. The door behind you is locked, but there's one across the room on the other side of the pit. It's guarded by the dark figure, who is holding-- in addition to the clocktower hands-- a rubber dodgeball]

[. . . uh oh]

"Obstacle one: make it across the lava pit without falling! Beware flying obstructions."

[Well. It's not like you have anywhere to go but forward]

[P.S. your powers have suddenly been turned off. Like a light switch]

[fuhrinkaed]

[One moment, falling on his face and sliding to a stop.]

[ow ow ow.]

[OKAY. STANDING UP AND.]

[...Well, I guess let's run straight at the balance beam towards the guy.]

[At a dead run.]

[Because of course Ed is all about rushing headlong into situations where balance is involved.]

[soulping]

[omg Ed don't die]

[as soon as one foot touches the balance beam, the figure throws a dodgeball RIGHT AT HIS HEAD]

[better move fast]

[fuhrinkaed]

[JUST. AS. PLANNED.]

[He jumps straight forward, takes the dodgeball to the top of his head, and grabs for the balance beam with both arms as he lands.]

[Because nobody said he had to walk.]

[soulping]

[well. it's a rubber ball so it doesn't exactly hurt as it bounces off of his head]

[but as he falls, although he grabs at the balance beam to hold on, he finds that his grip on it is rather. . . slippery. it's not impossible to cling, but it's pretty difficult!]

[fuhrinkaed]

[He's straight up hugging it, under the theory that 'it's easier to balance with both arms and both legs around it.]

[Once balance is achieved, he can move forward.]

[soulping]

[. . .]

[the figure throws a ball at his arms, trying to break his grip]

[fuhrinkaed]

[>HUG TIGHTER.]

[I can crawl like a snake, knees then arms then knees then arms.]

[this is not pretty.]

[but it is stable,]

[soulping]

[hey, as long as it works. he might even notice that there is literally no heat coming from the "lava pit" below as he crosses]

[it takes him a while, but he manages to reach the other end of the chasm. the figure grins at him as it opens the door and slips through. a beeping noise fills the room, which is soon followed by Kaito's voice over the PA system again]

"Not bad, not bad! You've passed obstacle one!"

[fuhrinkaed]

Thanks, Kaito.

[Shakily... standing.]

Haha. Okay then, gonna' get you guy!!

[AND THROUGH THE DOOR.]

[soulping]

[As soon as you enter the second room, the door behind you slams shut and locks once again. There are no pits this time, but there is a rather large rock wall in front of you. And by large, I mean like a good forty feet tall. Don't worry, there are soft pads at the bottom]

[The door is all the way at the top of the wall. If you guessed that the dark figure is guarding that door as well, you will have guessed correctly! It. . . has a bucket this time. A totally normal, non-threatening bucket. But if it's non-threatening, then why is the figure grinning so much?]

[oh dear]

"Obstacle two: climb the wall to get to the door. Careful, you might find that this wall is a bit. . . slippery."

[fuhrinkaed]

[...how far is the wall from another wall? Is there a corner he can brace on?]

[soulping]

[there is, if he climbs on either the far left or the far right of the rock wall. IT'S LIKE if you covered the back wall of a normal room with rock climbing apparatuses!]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Okay then. Gonna start off climbing the wall nearish that corner, but not directly bracing on it. We're going to pretend that this is a legitimate climbing run until the other guy decides to cheat thanks.]

[soulping]

[the other guy decides to cheat pretty quickly, for once you're about five or ten feet up, he dumps a bucket of slippyer slime over the edge]

[right on top of your head]

[fuhrinkaed]

[One hand lets go. Grab cloak. PUT CLOAK OVER HEAD.]

[Ed's powers are off... but how about his magical cleans-itself cloak of awesome?!]

[...yeah nobody cares the big thing here is being able to see.]

[soulping]

[the cloak deflects the slime from his head pretty well, keeping him nice and clean! some splashes onto the rocks above him, though]

[it'll be tricky going forward from here on out]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Or it would be.]

[If Ed didn't already plan for this and just climb over to the corner and begin operation 'Brace self on walls to climb.']

[soulping]

[it's still a little difficult, as the hand and foot holds are slick to the touch, even if he's bracing himself against the wall as he climbs]

[but if he moves slowly, then he should be able to make it to the top]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Slow and steady will win the race.]

[Or the. climbing. mission.]

[Finally grabbing for the top.]

[soulping]

[VICTORY!]

[The dark figure takes a little bow as the door behind it opens, and before Ed knows it, its slips away]

[The victory noise chimes through the room again]

"Congratulations! You've crossed obstacle number two!"

[fuhrinkaed]

[Through the door.]

Shadow guy, get back here and give me those hands!

[soulping]

[shadow guy does not seem interesting in listening]

[You enter the third room. As predicted, the door shuts and locks itself behind you. The room is comprised of a tile floor and white walls, and for now it seems. . . empty]

"Final obstacle: solve the jigsaw puzzle!"

[What jigsaw puzzle-- ooooooh. If you look down, you might notice that each tile has a strange, disjointed pattern painted on top of it. Further inspection reveals that you can pick up and remove the tiles super easily. Nifty!]

[. . .]

[Oh dang that's one huge jigsaw puzzle]

[The dark figure leans against the door on the opposite end of the room. It isn't holding anything other than the clocktower hands this time, luckily for you. Better get to puzzle solving!]

[fuhrinkaed]

[The hardest part of this for Ed is legit moving the tiles. It's a clover. It's definitely a clover. And starting at the corners and moving in makes life very easy.]

[soulping]

[the figure snaps its fingers]

[one of the tiles Ed is holding disappears in his hands and reappears on the floor several feet away]

[WELL. IT HAD TO INTERFERE SOMEHOW]